Interesting Facts on Fast Walking
- Before I was diagnosed with Pd in 1992 I went to the gym for one hour, six days of the week.
- For the next two years between 1992 and 1994 I increased my gym time to one and a half hours.
- Also between 1992 and 1994 I took sinemet 25/100 and symmetrel (I don’t know what qty) tablets three times a day
- On 1994 I stopped going to the gym and started to do Fast walking for twenty minutes, every second day. That was increased by five minutes every second week until I was doing one hour, three times a week.
- Also in 1994, I stopped taking Sinemet and symmetrel and started taking selegiline 5 mg twice a day, which the manufacturers claimed could possibly slow down the progression of Pd. My neurologist wanted me to test this theory.
- In 1998, my condition had improved so much that other people, who had not seen me for six years, noticed how well I was looking and told me so, in an accusatorily way, because they had expected me to be lot worse and possibly in a wheelchair.
- In 2002 my neurologist said he was going to put me on 3 x 25/100 sinemet a day, because I would be needing it after nine years. I took those sinemet for three months, but because I had noticed no change in my symptoms I decided to come back off them.
- Early in 2002 I came off my selegiline for six months, with no worsening in my symptoms, but six months later I went back on the selegiline for 3 months. As I had managed quite well for those six months I decided to try to come back off the selegilne to see what happened.
- I have not had to go back on any Pd medication since the end of 2002.but I have continued with the fast walking ever since 1994.
- I have experienced several injuries since 1998, when I started to walk every day. I tore a calf muscle in my right leg, tore a ligament in my right foot and tore a muscle in my left buttocks.
- At the age of 82, in 2017, I started taking part in the weekly five kilometre Parkrun, although I only walk, while most others run all the time or walk and run. Very few people actually walk all the way as I do. I don’t know where I came amongst the walkers, but i do know I am not the first but I finished all the races in the top 75%, That meant that in one of the races I finishes at 710 among a field of 994 contestants. I was the oldest there so everybody I beat was younger than me and they were not all walking only.